B R Sharan Kumar

  Elpenor wins Poonawalla Million in breath-taking fashion Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Elpenor won the Gr 1 Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million, a terms race for three-year-olds, the biggest race for first season runners, in breath-taking fashion at the Mahalakshmi on Sunday. The progeny of Elpenor unleashed such a devastating turn of foot that it had the entire opposition stranded. Elpenor cut a fast timing of one minute 21.542 seconds with jockey Suraj Narredu not having to go all out.   By Sharan Kumar Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Elpenor won the Gr 1 Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million, a terms race for three-year-olds, the biggest race for first-season runners, in breath-taking fashion at the Mahalakshmi on Sunday. The progeny of Elpenor unleashed such a devastating turn of foot that it had the entire opposition stranded. Elpenor cut a fast timing of one minute 21.542 seconds with jockey Suraj Narredu not having to go all out. Suraj thus fulfilled his long-standing ambition

  Dress as you feel says British Jockey Club, drops regulations By Rolf Johnson   I would feel I was undressed if I went racing without wearing my Indian Invitation Cup necktie, brown with the insignia of each Indian race club picked out in gold. India’s aristocracy were ‘posh’ well before the British took their voyages back and forth to the Empire. That travel had to be First Class -  P ort  O ut,  S tarboard  H ome and the word was added to the English language.   The British Jockey Club has relaxed its Rules on Dress Codes, except at Royal Ascot and the Queen Elizabeth Grandstand on Derby Day when morning suits with waistcoats and top hats remain obligatory. Now nearly anything goes and ‘Posh’ is a dirty word. Is it old-fashioned to regret decline in standards, or must we acknowledge that times have changed and people must be permitted freedom of choice? You judge.   “C’mon Dover! Move your bloomin’ arse!” blew the cover of common Cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle

  Turf Clubs should give serious attention to glitches By Sharan Kumar Ever since the turf clubs in India stopped using the satellites for telecasting races between centres and went for the P2P system of communication to relay races through the internet to cut costs, there have been many glitches. The streaming is not continuous and often, there is a shocking delay, with some racecourses getting the relay well after the race has been completed.   Recently the Madras Race Club had to refund all the bets of the last race of Mumbai racing because the relay of races did not sync with real-time. Even at Kolkata, the relay of the last race of Mumbai racing was yet to start but the race had been completed.   Our Kolkata correspondent reports: `` The Mumbai inter-venue betting in RCTC, witnessed a strange operation of live streaming of the last event starting much after the race results became common knowledge, through private channels. The RCTC bookmakers got a whiff of things and

    Racing handicapped by addiction to betting   By Rolf Johnson   The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board has just handed out a record ban to trainer Ronan McNally – 12 years for “running horses in order to obtain handicap marks not reflective of their ability”. This crime has always been ‘part of the game’ because addiction to handicaps and the betting on them is all that ensures survival of many. Here are some reflections on what some call an ‘art’; others call a ‘science’; and others call the besetting sin of the sport of horseracing - handicapping.   Admiral Rous (1795-1877) held inflexible and rarely questioned opinions. Through strength of character and selfless study of all matters racing he was anointed ‘Dictator of the Turf’ formulating the principles on which handicapping racehorses is based. Yet he himself insisted: “Handicaps are a boon to bad horses with no other prospect of success.”   Before taking up the position of official handicapper in 1855 he woul

  Indian Derby offering King's Ransom!   By Sharan Kumar The Gr 1 Indian Derby will be run on Sunday, February 5 with all the attendant glamour and glitz. Trainer Pesi Shroff will be there to extract his Kings Ransom by attempting to win the most coveted event in Indian racing for the third time in a row. He is taking no chances and he is also coming with supernatural powers to extract a King's Ransom! The Indian Derby has an aura of its own which has not diminished with the passage of time. Sponsor or no sponsor, the Managing Committee of Royal Western India Turf Club is leaving no stone unturned to make the event as spectacular as possible promising an evening of ``drinks, food, music’’ and exciting action on the race track. The day’s racing will start in the afternoon with a couple of races being scheduled to be run under lights, with the party continuing for the guests late into the night. The Indian Derby is a social event as much as a racing event which is why D